As you probably know, www.clivejames.com is already a huge repository of all kinds of verbal and visual delights, constantly updated with new and rewarding stuff. But in case you haven't visited lately, you may well be interested and entertained by a newish section which you'll find in VIDEO. It's called VIDEO FINDS and it consists of links to clips Clive has found on YouTube, each one of which he has written an introduction for. He says that "tomb-raiding in YouTube and writing little introductory essays to fit is probably the most fun I’ve had in print since I was a television columnist." Explore and enjoy.

Hello Pete, Thanks for pointing this out - I had a look and a listen and enjoyed everything. The "Flowers Duet" was beautiful and great to hear Ian Dury again. And noticed a "Victrola" mentioned in one of the essays, of course that set me thinking of "Eye of the Universe"!

The Girl Hunt Ballet from the file The Band Wagon is wonderful. Fellow MVs may be interseted to know that the beautiful late Cyd Charisse was latterly (for 40 years) married to the singer Tony Martin, who is my maternal Grandmother's first cousin.

Clive's site is now a 'favourite' and I shall be a regular visitor.

Though he had no great gifts of personality or mind, he was quite well respected.

........ Fellow MVs may be interseted to know that the beautiful late Cyd Charisse was latterly (for 40 years) married to the singer Tony Martin, who is my maternal Grandmother's first cousin.

.........

Tony Martin, here heard on a scratchy recording of the Nacio Herb Brown & Gus Kahn composition You Stepped Out of a Dream is probably best remembered for his singing of Gaylord Ravenal in the 15 minute segment of Show Boat that opens the film Till Clouds Roll By, MGM's fictionalised biography of Jerome Kern for which a galaxy of MGM's stars, including Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra – singing 'Ol Man River*!!!! – Lena Horne (playing Julie a role she was denied - probably on race grounds- when MGM's filmed the later full-length film version of the show) and Britain's own Angela Lansbury were lined up to sing Kern compositions.

Till Clouds Roll By has been readily available at knock-down prices for a number of years because MGM forgot to renew the copyright and allowed to come into the public domain at a time when enterprising DVD publishers were looking for out-of-copyright material to put on sale in cut-price outlets.

Kevin Cryan

*Sinatra himself must have felt that he did not do justice to the great song, because 15 or so years later he was to record it to greater effect for his own, Reprise, label.

Till Clouds Roll By has been readily available at knock-down prices for a number of years because MGM forgot to renew the copyright and allowed to come into the public domain at a time when enterprising DVD publishers were looking for out-of-copyright material to put on sale in cut-price outlets.

Kevin Cryan

*Sinatra himself must have felt that he did not do justice to the great song, because 15 or so years later he was to record it to greater effect for his own, Reprise, label.

Addendum

Till the Clouds Roll By has the distinction of being one of the first films to have a soundtrack album released concurrent with the film. The album, produced by the newly-formed recording arm (1946) of MGM, originally contained four 78-rpm records featuring a variety of artists and songs from the movie and front-cover artwork credited to Lennie Hayton the musical director who a year or so later would marry one of the film's performers, Lena Horne. Throughout the marriage, (unusual at the time in that it was an interracial one) which lasted till Hayton's death in 1971, he acted as Horne’s musical director.

Later in 1950(?) the album was released on the then newly-arrived LP format.

Although there are, as far as I know, no authorised CD versions of these recordings in existence, several unauthorized ones are in circulation, and for the very same reason as there are unauthorised versions of the film in existence.